Nothing is as it seems
by Sophia24
Summary: Bella moves in with her father to a normal quiet neighbourhood but not everything is as it seems. A mysterious, deserted mansion at the end of the street contains secrets that Bella must unravel and a curse that only she can break. Full summary inside.B/E
1. Mysterious

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight**

**Summary: Bella moves in with her father and step family who live in a normal, quiet neighbour hood. Normal except for one thing; an old deserted mansion at the end of her street, where various disappearances have been rumoured to occur. She builds up the courage to investigate, regardless of the fact that whoever enters the grounds are never seen or heard of again. She discovers a group of people live there, trapped in a curse. A curse that only she has the power to break.**

**Authors note: I had this idea when I was reading a book…I'm not sure why though. The story line is completely different to the book…I also had a little inspiration from the film 'the little vampire' (a favourite of mine and at the very end you can actually see my house!). You'll understand the connection later in the story, I'll specify it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!**

Mysterious

I had just moved from Phoenix to live with my dad, Charlie, my step mother, Sue, and her two children, Seth and Leah. My mother, Renee, and my step dad, Phil, had decided to travel around the world for a few years and I decided to live with my dad to give them some time together but also to finish my studies at school. I still had another two years until I graduate so it made sense that I lived in the one place to go to school instead of being home schooled like I would have had to have been if I had stayed with my mom.

We lived in a quiet neighbourhood, completely normal apart from the deserted house at the end of our street. It was one of the original houses built here, 300 years ago, all the others that had been built at that time had been demolished to make room for more modern houses, like the one I was currently staying in. It was a large mansion-type house with three floors and a huge front garden which was so over grown it could easily have been mistaken for a jungle. The path that led up to the front door was just barely visible through the ten-foot tall weeds that covered the garden. It, like the rest of the houses on this side of the street, backed onto the nearby forest.

Apparently, according to some of the students in my school, the house had been empty for years and there were some rumours about it being haunted by ghosts and the home of vampires. Some did say that people who went into that house, into the grounds, just disappeared. Never to be seen or heard of again. I really doubted that. Ghosts? Vampires? How gullible did they think I was?

It was Halloween in a few weeks time and I think that's why these stories were all being told, to set the atmosphere or something. I used to love Halloween when I was a child. I still do but not quite as much as I did then. Every year from when I was four to fifteen I would dress as a vampire. I had some sort of fascination about them. I had always loved the night time, the mysteries that it held.

I was walking past the 'haunted mansion' on my way to school today and I had an unnerving feeling that I felt eyes on me. I glanced around the street; most people were leaving for work or for the school run but none of them were paying attention to me as I walked to school.

I turned my gaze towards the large abandoned house, only barely being able to see the first floor windows over the jungle of weeds in the front garden. Nothing, no one. Not that I had expected to see anyone, after all, it was deserted. But I still couldn't shake the feeling I was being watched. I took a few more steps until I was directly in front of the gate leading into the front garden of the house. Ok, its official; I was beginning to get paranoid. Someone was definitely watching me. I could feel it. I stopped and turned my body towards the house, searching the upper floor windows for anyone, anything.

I was just beginning to think I was imagining it when my eyes came to rest on the last window. Staring out of it was a boy who looked roughly my age with windswept auburn hair, pale skin and was unnaturally beautiful. I felt hypnotised, I couldn't take my eyes off his, I couldn't make out what colour they were at this distance but there was something about them that made me think they could see straight into my soul.

The wind blew, whipping my hair across my face and stinging my eyes. I automatically blinked against it and in that moment, as soon as I opened my eyes, the boy was gone. I stared at the house for a few more minutes wondering, hoping he would reappear but he didn't. I had imagined it. That was all, what other explanation was there?

**A/N: I know I have a lot of stories on the go right now so I may not update this story for a while and only when I get a sufficient response, so please review! **


	2. Fact or false suspicions?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight**

**Authors note: Here's the second chapter! Yay! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I didn't think I would this chapter out so quickly but here you go…**

**Also, I think I might try focusing on this story for a little while because I've run out of inspiration for my other stories at the moment so it should be a few days before I can sit down and start writing the next chapters for them…**

Fact or false suspicions?

On my way home from school my mind was still focused on what I had seen, or thought I had seen this morning. There were so many rumours about that house but all of them seemed ridiculous and impossible.

As I walked past it I had that feeling of eyes on me again but resisted the instinct to look. I was imagining it. I had to be. The house hadn't been lived in for years so there was no was in there, right? I had two options; either the rumours were true and the place was haunted or I was going insane. Right now, I'm not sure which one made most sense.

I sat at the dinner table; Charlie at the head of it, Sue sitting opposite him, Seth between her and me and Leah on sitting opposite me and Seth. Sue was an exceptionally good cook; she complimented Charlie perfectly as he couldn't even make a piece of toast without burning it.

Light conversation filled the silence while we were eating but I was too preoccupied in my own thought to pay too much attention to anybody else. My curiosity about the old house just across and down the street from ours was burning so strongly I couldn't concentrate on much else. Something was drawing me to it and I had a hunch that 'something' was the boy I had seen this morning, even if he was a figment of my imagination which I was sure he had to be.

"Dad?...I was wondering, well, you know the old abandoned house across the street?" I began hesitantly. I really wasn't sure what I wanted to ask. Is the place haunted? Are they're vampires living there? I might as well ask if 'pigs could fly' for all the good it would do me. My father was pretty sceptical when it came to things of the supernatural so it wouldn't be too hard to guess what his thought on the matter would be.

"You mean the old Sanderson place?" **(A/N: Yes, I got this name from the film 'Hocus Pocus'. hee-hee) **Charlie asked, most of his concentration focused on his dinner.

"Why is it called that?" This seemed like the most normal question, it definitely was in comparison to the many others that were floating around in my head.

Charlie opened his mouth to speak before Seth cut in, looking at me with excitement filled eyes at the prospect of telling me this particular story. "Well, it's called that because just after it was built a magician lived there and he cast a spell on it so that seven people would turn up within the boundaries of the house and be cursed to be vampires for eternity but –"

"Seth." Sue scolded, giving him a disapproving look that made it obvious she didn't believe anything of what he was saying.

"But, it's true." Seth protested then started to eat his dinner after getting a stern look from his mother, grumbling under his breath. I looked up and my eyes met Leah's, a smirk tugging at the corners of her mouth.

"That house is one of the ones originally built here, the only one still standing." Charlie said with a shrug. "A family did move in there a couple of years ago but they moved away straight after." He said as he continued eating his food.

"What do you mean?" I had a bad feeling about the answer to that.

"They arrived with all there furniture, a removal van and everything, but a few days later, nobody had seen them and all there possessions had gone as well; so they moved." He replied nonchalantly.

"You mean they just disappeared?" The circumstances seemed a little too suspicious to me; Maybe because something really was going on inside that house, or maybe because Seth's stories were fuelling my over-active imagination.

"People just don't disappear, Bella." Charlie said simply as Seth moved his attention from his food to the conversation once more.

"I remember this one guy; apparently, he and a bunch of his friends were daring each other and one of them dared him to go into the garden of that house…" He said pausing for effect, "…all his friends could hear was the high pitched, terror filled screams muffled by the wind. Nobody has seen him since, he just disappeared." He grinned at me and lowered his voice slightly. "Or got eaten by the vampires."

"Seth." Sue scolded once more. Apparently his last comment hadn't been quite as quiet as he had hoped it would be.

And awful sense of foreboding consumed me then. It had to be true. What are the chances that that family and the boy Seth was referring to would all disappear at the same house? I definitely did not believe the family had simply moved away, although I wasn't prepared to accept the fact that the house was the home to a family of vampire's either. Surely there had to be a reasonable explanation, didn't there?

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Having finished all my homework and having nothing better to do, I was sitting in a wooden deck chair in the large front garden of our house, reading on of my well-loved books in the last of today's sunlight.

As always; I was immersed in my book, oblivious to the world around me until I had the skin-crawling sensation of eyes watching me again. I looked up quickly, in an attempt to catch whoever was watching me.

My eyes were drawn to the dark house across the road and a couple of doors down, completely deserted apart from the figure in the front garden, standing right at the gate as if about to leave. In the weak light that was still lighting up the sky I would see the figure was a small girl, maybe my age or a little older but only 4" 10' at the most. Her short black hair was spiked up and a smile lit her face. If wasn't friendly though, more ominous and knowing than anything else. A shiver of fear ran down my spine as I stared at her and a moment later she was gone completely. As quickly as she had appeared she had disappeared. My eyes darted around the deserted street then back to the house, searching for some sign of the girl I had just seen, or even the boy from this morning but it was still, lifeless.

Uneasiness filled me and I picked up my book and went back inside my house, shutting the door firmly behind me. Was it my imagination or had I really seen them? Whatever it was I was determined to find out what was hiding in that house and the secrets that surrounded them. There had to be a reasonable explanation and I was going to find out what it was. Tomorrow, after school I was going to find out what's wrong with that house once and for all.

**A/N: Seriously, my sister cant even make a piece of toast without burning it and kept asking my mum how to make baked beans when it was her turn to make dinner; she made beans on toast. She's 14 and took home economics (cooking class) last year but is still pretty pants at it…**

**Anyway, I have decided to give anybody who reviews a ****sneak peek**** of the next chapter because I've found that doing so makes me more motivated to write because I have to have that sneak peak ready for the first person to review…**


	3. Mission impossible?

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight**

**Authors Note: Here's the next chapter! Sorry about the slight delay but I ran out of inspiration. I should hopefully be updating my other stories soon but I have no idea when…I'm just not that inspired at the moment.**

Mission impossible?

I lay on my bed, staring into the darkness that had now enveloped my room. I had given up trying to sleep hours ago; my thoughts were too consumed with the strange boy and girl I had seen earlier today, well, yesterday. I glanced at my clock on the bedside table to see the glowing green numbers reading 1:07. Great.

I was definitely going to be a zombie tomorrow at school because of my lack of sleep. I let out a frustrated sigh and rolled onto my side, trying to get comfortable, as I forced my eyes shut in an attempt to get to sleep. No such luck.

I could here muffled footsteps wandering around on the same floor as my bedroom. Leah sleep walked and Seth was a bit of an insomniac so it was probably one of them. It was obvious that I wasn't going to be going to sleep anytime soon so I forced myself out of bed and stumbled around my room to the light switch beside the door.

I flicked the light on, being momentarily blinded and began to search through my drawers for some clothes. I had only worn short and a vest top to bed but it was freezing in the house, it was October after all. I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a long sleeved top. I was just about to leave my room when something caught my eye.

I walked slowly across my room to the small window that overlooked the street (I had forgotten to close my curtains before I went to bed). Most of the houses outside were either lit by the light from the street lamps or by porch lights but the only house that was in complete darkness was the deserted one across the street. The only thing illuminating it was the small amount of moonlight there was tonight.

But the thing that had caught my eye and sent chills down my spine was a dim light coming from one of the upper floor windows of that house. I couldn't be imagining that, could I? I saw the dark shadow of a figure, caused by someone walking in front of that dim light, crossing in front of the window and ducked behind my curtains. If there was someone in there I really didn't want to be seen by them but I had a feeling they already knew I was watching.

My determination flared and I walked purposefully towards the door to my room, picking up my jacket on the way. I had to find out what was going on, one way or another. Admittedly, I was letting my curiosity get the better of me but I really couldn't care less. There was something about that boy that made me feeling drawn towards him. The girl made my curiosity greater but him, the feeling was entirely different.

I walked as quietly as I could along the corridor and down the stairs, tipping frequently because I had decided against putting any lights on. I made it to the kitchen without major incident, glancing behind me just in case. I walked across the kitchen towards the side door.

"Bella?" I squealed and turned around quickly in surprise, almost tripping myself up over my own two feet. I could barely make out the figure sitting at the breakfast bar which was on the side of the kitchen that had been hidden from view when I had opened the door, which would explain why I didn't see anyone. "What are you doing?" The dark figure asked incredulously. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I recognised the voice. Seth. Who _did I think it was anyway? One of the vampires across the road?_ I berated myself for my foolishness. If it had been someone dangerous why would they alert me to their presence?

"Erm…" I was desperately trying to think up a reasonable excuse but really, what could I say that would explain me leaving the house after 1am?

"Where are you going?" He asked as he stood up and walked towards me, the outside light casting a soft glow on his features.

"I…I was just…" I sighed, I was a rubbish liar anyway so what was the point in attempting? "Alright, if you must know I'm…well, I'm going to see what's going on in that house." I whispered, not wanting anyone else alerted to what I was trying to do.

"What?!" He said a little too loudly and I shushed him hastily. "You can't…" He continued at a quieter volume but the urgency in his voice was obvious. "…weren't you listening to what I said earlier? Weird things happen there, Bella. People go missing and I don't want you to be one of them." The worry that laced his tone was obvious on his features as well. He may have been really tall for his age but at 13 he was still a child in my eyes.

"Seth, you can't really believe that, can you? Vampires? Ghosts? Those things are only made up to scare you. There not real. I'll be perfectly fine." I tried to reason with him. To be honest, right now, with all the strange things I had been seeing, I wasn't sure what to believe but I didn't want him to be worried about me.

"But Bella—"

"I'll be fine." I said firmly then gave him a small smile. "I promise, ok?" He nodded reluctantly with a frown on his face.

I picked up a torch from one of the kitchen counters and opened the back door quietly, slipping out into the night. I wrapped my jacket tighter around me as a light breeze blew past me. I lanced around me before taking off at a brisk pace across the road towards that house.

The dim light I had seen earlier was gone now so the house was completely shrouded in darkness. I flicked the switch on my torch and shone it in front of me as I reached the old, rusting gate. I pushed it open slowly but my stealth was ruined by the loud creak it made as it swung open.

_Now for the hard part_, I thought as I eyed the forest of overgrown weeds. Knowing my luck I would either get lost in there for hours or trip and break my leg then be stuck until somebody came to find me. I took a deep breath and began my journey through the maze of weeds. I was surprised to find that there wasn't that many stinging nettles here, just tall leafy plants that vaguely reminded me of bamboo.

I forcefully pushed my way through the plants in the direction I thought was supposed to lead me to the house. About half an hour later I was still walking in circles and I was now jumping at every sound I heard; swigs snapping, leaves rustling, which were probably just animals of something. Stupid over-active imagination.

After what seemed like hours – but was probably only a few minutes later – I emerged from the weed forest and found myself at the bottom of the porch steps leading into the large deserted mansion. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I realised that it was completely silent. No rustling or twigs snapping which I had assumed were animals. Only a heavy foreboding silence hung around the house in front of me.

As I approached the old, rustic wooden door my heart was pounding in my ears and the uneasiness was increasing with each step I took. I shouldn't be here, something wasn't right. That thought kept repeating itself again and again in my mind but I kept my slow pace towards the front door regardless. I gingerly reached out towards the door, my hand visibly shaking, and gave it a small push which caused it to swing open effortlessly.

It was even darker inside the house than it was outside and I swept my torch's beam of light around the large entrance way. I took another cautious step, now walking into the house as I continued to search the room with my torch. I swept it around the room and then back as I noticed something.

I froze as the beam of light from my torch landed on a pair of black shoes in the shadows directly across from me. I felt my pulse double in speed and my breathing was coming out in short rasps as I moved the light upward revealing more and more of the figure. Black dress pants, black button down shirt and finally, the face of an angel. Him. The auburn haired boy. He stood motionless, just watching me. I just stared at him, my eyes drinking him in greedily; his defined jaw, perfect lips, straight nose and then I tensed as I moved my gaze higher. Bright crimson eyes were staring back at me, piercing and intense, as if he could see right into my soul.

I instinctively took a step back, my mouth suddenly dry and fear running freely through me. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he continued to watch me. It wasn't a friendly smile but an eerie, threatening one, one that made the colour drain from my face completely. I had been right; I shouldn't be here.

"Welcome to the Cullen Coven." His smooth, velvet voice rang out to me dark and ominous. _Coven…as in a coven of vampires? Crap…_

I took another step back wards, wanting nothing more to run but my feet weren't doing what they were told and stayed rooted to the spot or maybe it was the feeling of being drawn towards him that stopped my retreat.

An icy breeze blew past me again, bringing with it a few leaves from outside and causing a few wisps of my hair to blow in front of my face. I kept my eyes locked on him and watched as his crimson eyes turned quickly into an onyx black colour, his smile being replaced by a snarl.

In a blur I saw him moving at an impossible speed towards me before another blur knocked into him, throwing them both across the room. I stood frozen in shock with the beam of light from my torch fixed on the scene in front of me. I could just make out a flash of blond hair as the two of them wrestled on the floor, growling at each other.

The blond one pinned him and their movement stilled as they struggled against each other. The blond male looked up at me, my eyes locking with his onyx black ones, his face twisted in hunger and fury. He pushed himself up and made his way towards me before being knocked to the side the auburn haired boy. "No." He roared in fury as he pinned the blond male under him. "She's mine." He hissed through clenched teeth.

I took another step backwards; still too enraptured to run like I should be. "Edward. Get. Off. Me." The blond one seethed at him as they continued their fight. I didn't even notice that I now knew one of their names, my mind was too preoccupied by the fact that I just realised they were fighting over me…for dinner.

I saw movements around the corners of my eyes at the edges of the room, my beam of light being quickly directed towards them. A tall, blond, beautiful female emerged from one side of the room eyeing me hungrily before walking in my direction only to be crashed into by the blond male and Edward. The short pixie-like girl I had seen earlier stood halfway up the staircase on the left of the room, her jaw clenched, as if she was trying to restrain herself, and her onyx eyes focused on the three fighting below her.

"Stop it." She demanded but went unnoticed. My eyes moved to the other side of the room and landed upon a large, muscled male with dark brown curly hair and I took that as my cue to leave. Finally regaining use of my limbs I turned and ran as fast as I could, jumping down the porch steps and all but sprinting though the weed forest, trying desperately not to trip.

I didn't dare look behind me for fear of what I might see and I knew that at the speed I had seen them move they would be able to catch up to me easily if they weren't so preoccupied fighting each other over me. By some miracle I emerge at the gate in a matter of seconds, wrenching it open and letting it swing shut behind me as I continued running for my house.

I managed to make it to the door without falling once and shut the door securely behind me, pulling the dead bolt and locking both locks, although I really doubted that would make any difference. I leaned my back against the door, gulping down much needed oxygen and trying to steady my racing heart beat.

"Bella! You're back." I almost screamed as Seth through himself at me, pulling me into a tight hug. "I was so worried. You've been gone for ages." He complained as he released me from his hold. "What happened? Are you ok?" He asked hurriedly, probably noticing my heavy breathing or the fact that I looked like I had seen a ghost.

"I…" I hesitated. Should I tell him? What good would it do if I did? He already believed in the rumours, which apparently were true, but did I really want to tell him? "I'm fine. I just got a bit freaked out. It was nothing." I said quickly. He looked at me suspiciously before nodding his head but I doubted he believed me. I had always been a terrible liar.

"I'll just go back to bed." I said quickly and left the room before he could question me further, stumbling up the stairs on my hands and knees to make it easier for me and shutting my bedroom door behind me.

I flicked the light on and tossed my torch on the floor after turning it off. I don't think I'd be able to sleep at all with the light out. _Well, at least I know what's going on in that house._

**A/N: ok, a little scary chapter…at least, that's what I hoped it to be. **

**Oh, and just in case, a torch is a flash light but I couldn't be bother writing that because I would just confuse myself.**

**The more you review the quicker I'll write the next chapter! And if you review you get a sneak peek of the next chapter too!**


	4. A chilling fact

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight**

**Authors note: thanks to everybody who review or put this story on their alerts of favourites! **

A Chilling fact

I spent the rest of that night thinking, just going over what happened in my mind and trying to make sense of it. It was impossible. Vampire weren't real. But obviously, they were. I had gone to the home of a whole coven of them so they had to exist.

I knew there were at least five of them: Edward with his disarray of auburn hair and breath-taking features who also tried to attack me; the blond male, taller than Edward but slightly more muscled than him and by the way they were fighting, I'd say he was more experienced with that as well; the dark haired girl, she was tiny, no more than 4' 10" and extremely dainty. She seemed to have more control over her 'hunger' than the others but not by much by the strained look on her face. There was the other male, brown curly hair and very muscular but I didn't hang around long enough to see his reaction to me. I wonder if he would have been able to control himself like the pixie girl…Then there was the blond female, tall and beautiful, who also tried to attack me. Well, I suppose that's what's going to happen if you walk willingly into a house full of vampires; they eat you.

By the time dawn came I was still trying to rearrange my jumbled thoughts into some sort of order but they weren't cooperating with me. It was actually amazing how I managed to stay awake during school with only a few hours sleep. I hadn't walked past that house again today because Sue gave me, Seth and Leah a lift into school today because it was her day off. I wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing.

What I couldn't understand was; why, if the vampires were so hungry to act like that around me, wouldn't they just leave their house and go get some…victims? I mean, that was the logical answer but why wouldn't they? There must be something more to them than I knew so far and, as always, my curiosity and determination got the better of me. I was desperate to answer these questions but every time I tried it would only cause more to appear and leave the previous ones unanswered.

It was stormy that night and I fell asleep to the pelting of the rain against my bedroom window. I found that it calmed me, helped me to relax and while I was focusing on that I managed to get my thoughts off of the strange goings on in the house across the road. But my subconscious seemed to have other ideas.

_Dream……………………………………………………………_

_I stumbled around the weed forest, my arms outstretched in front of me feeling completely lost. I couldn't remember how I had gotten here but I had a hunch of where I was. The bright sunlight barely made it through the high weeds, causing me to be wondering around in the dark. A small figure emerge from the plants in front of me, a bright smile lighting up her angelic features and her short spiky hair and her skin glinting slightly in the small amount of sunlight filtering through._

"_Come on, Bella, this way." She said happily and took my hand in her small, delicate, ice-cold one. "Follow me." She said and tugged on my arm, pulling me along behind her. I happily complied, keeping close behind her as she led the way through the maze of weeds._

_A large dark, curly haired male appeared out of nowhere beside the small pixie-like girl in front of me. A smile on his face, dimples on his cheeks in the most cute and innocent expression. "Yes, Bella, we know the way. Follow us." He grinned at me and wrapped his large hand around my wrist to make sure I followed them both._

_I followed them without a second thought, stumbling slightly but never falling because of their strong grips on my wrists. We continued walking through the tall weeds as the light seemed to be fading, growing gradually darker._

"_We're almost there, Bella, not long now." The short girl turned her head and grinned back at me. I smiled back as they led me and noticed that it was now a lot darker than it had been seconds before._

_We stopped and suddenly the two of them had completely disappeared, no sign as to where they might have gone. My eyes darted about in the darkness for a few seconds before they came to rest on a dark figure in front of me that hadn't been there a moment ago. My breathing hitched as he lifted his head, locking his eyes on mine; his tousled auburn hair looking black in the dark and his red eyes glowing brightly. Edward._

_He took a step towards me menacingly and a wicked grin spread across his face. My breath was coming in short gasps and I could feel the blood drain out of my face at that look. "We've been waiting a long time, Bella." His velvet voice was low and rough, threatening. I should have feared for my life but I felt a tingle run down my spine when he spoke my name. It was hard to explain but I knew I would gladly risk my life if I could just be near him, hearing his voice. _

"_W-What do you mean?" I stuttered and took a step backwards. There was something about him. Something dangerous, hidden behind his beauty, something just below the surface that caused fear to run through me. My instincts were telling me to run, to get as far away from him as possible, but my heart…my heart was the only thing keeping me there. It was calling to him, drawing me closer and ignoring any and every warning my mind was giving me._

_His grin grew wider, showing his bright white teeth that glinted in the moonlight. I was just about to take a step back, to finally run, but he was in front of me so fast I barely saw a blur as he moved. _

"_Goodbye, Bella. Sweet dreams." He chuckled darkly and I watched in wonder as his crimson eyes gradually darkened until they were onyx black. My eyes widened as the meaning of his words sunk in and I tried to turn and run. I had barely taken my first step when I felt his hand on my upper arm in an iron grip. I struggled against him, knowing it was futile, as he lowered his head towards me, his teeth bared and glowing brightly in the darkness…_

I awoke with a jolt, my heart racing and my breathing erratic. So much for not thinking about them, I thought bitterly and sat up to untangle the blankets from my feet. Whenever I had a nightmare I always managed to somehow force the blanket to the bottom of the bed and get my legs completely tangled in it. After much experience I discovered it's always best to free my feet before trying to stand out of bed, that way I wouldn't have an unexpected meeting with my bedroom floor.

I forced myself out of bed and padded over to the window. After that dream I was absolutely boiling hot and since it seemed like the rain had stopped I pushed my window open, revelling in the cool breeze that blew in immediately.

I sighed in relief as the cold night air hit my heated skin and felt my body relaxing as well. The sounds of voices floated into my room on the wind and I squinted through the darkness to see who the cause of it was. My eyes landed on a group of about half a dozen men, maybe late teens or early twenties, fooling around in front of _that_ house. By the way they were staggering about and the volume of their voices I would say they were completely wasted. (A/N: it basically means totally drunk, just in case you didn't know).

I couldn't hear what they were saying, just the noises of their voices because of the wind that was continuously blowing. I watched, frozen by fear, as they opened the gate and walked into the garden of the vampires' house. I gripped the window sill so tight my knuckles were turning white and my fingers were going numb because of the cold wind. "No, don't." I whispered under my breath. There was no point in shouting to them, to warn them. They wouldn't hear me above the wind and even if they did I doubt they would listen to me in their drunken state.

I couldn't seem to tear my eyes away from them as they disappeared into the jungle of weeds that was the front garden of the house. It was like a road accident, it was tragic, horrible but no matter how hard you tried you can't take your eyes away from it.

I stared at the gate, where the group of men had been standing moments before, willing them to appear again, that they had the sense to get out of there while they had the chance. My eyes darted to one side of that weed forest as I saw the plants swaying more than the wind was causing them to and I caught a glimpse of white through the gaps in the weeds. They were there, and they were coming for those men.

The few moments of silence that followed was unbearable, just the wind blowing. Then the screaming started. The shouts and yells from the men who I had just seen drifted to me on the wind and I felt tears prickle in the corners of my eyes. I was hearing the sounds of their murders and there was nothing I could do about it. Who could I tell? Who would believe me, that there was a coven of vampires living across the road?

Seth's words from dinner yesterday floated into my mind; …_high pitched, terror filled screams muffled by the wind…_

I slammed the window shut, unable to listen to anymore, and threw myself on my bed face down as the tears spilled down my cheeks. I needed to do something, anything. I felt completely useless, helpless and I hated it. I decided right then; I was going to go to that house to find out what was happening and why. Even if it killed me, I _was_ going to find out.

**A/N: Remember, if you review you get a sneak peek of the next chapter! I've decided that I'll update when I get 10 reviews for this chapter….**

**Oh, and also (this isn't that important) but I forgot to mention in the authors note in the last chapter that the plants, weeds, in the front garden of the deserted house are actually Japanese knot weed…its evil! I had that in my garden and it literally does make it like a jungle…it can grow through concrete and is extremely hard to kill as well…just thought you might want to know…**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Kidnapped

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated with Twilight**_

_**Authors note: Here's the next chapter! It was going to be longer but I decided to post what I had written because I'm stuck right now…**_

_**Ok guys,**_ readinangel_** has made a Twilight Award sight and this story is one of the nominations on it. If you want to nominate a story, your own or another author's, then send a PM to **_readinangel.

Kidnapped!

It was Saturday today and because of what happened last night, I lay awake for hours and whenever I managed to fall asleep it would only be a few hours at a time. As a result, I didn't wake up until midday, a lot later than I usually do.

I was at home on my own today which suited me fine because I would be able to visit the creepy house without anyone wondering where I had gone and I would be able to do that during the day light. I had no intention of going into that place when it was dark. After seeing that pixie girl outside during the day made it obvious that the sunlight didn't affect them like it did to the stereotypical vampires so, I guess, it really wouldn't make any difference if I went during the day or at night.

Leah and Seth had both gone to friends houses, Charlie had gone fishing and Sue was going to visit one of her relatives so none of them would be back until the evening at least. I had a whole day to build up the courage I needed and go to that house.

I now find myself pacing back and forth in front of the gate leading to the garden like I have been for the past fifteen minutes, at least. What's to stop me from ending up like those men from last night? Sure, the vampires didn't kill me the last time I was here but that doesn't mean they won't do it this time.

I turned and took a step towards the gate, hesitated and began my pacing again. The pro's and con's of this decision were basically even. The con's are, obviously, the chance of me being attack and, therefore, killed. But the pro's would be that I would be able to find out more about what's going on…that, and I would be able to see Edward again.

I took in a deep breath, readying myself, then pushed the small wooden gate open and stepping into the overgrown garden, letting the gate swing shut behind me. I had made my decision so I might as well stick to it.

I walked through the tall weeds, a small amount of the sunlight leaking through the gaps between the plants and it reminded me of my dream, causing a ripple of fear to run down my spine.

After wandering around for what seemed like hours but was probably only half an hour, maybe a bit more, I was beginning to panic and starting to think that it wouldn't be such a bad idea to head back, if I could find out which way that was exactly.

I sighed and began walking to my right, hopefully the right way to the front gate. I thought I heard movement behind me and looked back over my shoulder as I kept walking, probably not the brightest idea because of the klutz I was but I managed not to trip_. I'm imagining things_, I thought with a frown. But, then again, the last time I thought I was imagining things it turned out I was right about the coven of vampires living across the street so maybe I shouldn't doubt myself so much.

I turned my head to see where I was going because, knowing my luck, I would probably trip over soon, and froze completely as I stared wide-eyed at the figure in front of me. I moved my eyes upwards, from his chest that was at my eye-level to his face, recognising him immediately. His honey-blonde hair flopping down into his glowing red eyes which were staring at me as an amused smirk spread across his face. His eyes seemed brighter than a few days ago when I was last here and I had a feeling it had something to do with his recent meal.

I turned and ran in the opposite direction of him; part of me thinking it was useless (I was slow and clumsy and he would be able to catch me even if he wasn't as fast as he was) but another part of me really didn't care. I had to run, had to escape. Sure, even though Edward had tried to attack me I felt alright going to visit him but that blonde male was a different story. There was something creepy about him and I didn't like it.

I ran as fast as I could through the forest of weeds, stumbling continuously but somehow never falling. I stopped abruptly when the large dark haired male suddenly appeared in front of me out of nowhere, a large smile on his face. He looked exactly like he had in my dream and that unnerved me. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and my breathing coming in shorts gasps.

I stumbled backwards a few steps and my back bumped into something solid. Before I had a chance to turn and see who or what it was a cold, strong arm wrapped around my waist, holding me to the person behind me, and a hand covered my mouth as I tried to scream. Whoever it was that was holding me lifted my feet off the ground and began to walk through the forest of weeds, seemingly oblivious to my struggles. I kicked my legs furiously, trying to break free of the strong grip around my middle while I tried to pull the hand away from my mouth to scream, to call for help, but I wasn't strong enough to do either.

The front rustic front door of the mansion came into view and my struggles became more frantic as different possibilities raced through my mind as to why they were kidnapping me. I felt a wave of calm wash over me and my struggles lessened slightly but I continued to wriggle, trying to escape.

The front door swung open, it was too dark for me to see who it was or anything really, and I was carried into the pitch black house, all the while I continued kicking my legs in the smallest hope that I might escape. I could make out the vague outline of a large stair case as me and my captor ascended them. I assumed that either there were no windows in this part of the house or they had all been blocked but since I knew that vampires didn't burn in the sun light, that couldn't have been the reason.

When we reached the landing at the top of the stairs a door opened and my eyes stung from the bright light that came from within. My eyes swept the room, slowly adjusting to the light and I continued to struggle, my screams being muffled by the hand still covering my mouth.

The room was extremely large and almost empty except from a wooden chair that sat in the centre of the room, that, and the members of the coven. My captor carried me across the room and, surprisingly, placed me gently in the chair as he released me from his hold. My breathing was still coming in short gasps as my eyes darted around the room, searching for an escape, but some rational part of my mind decided that it was best I didn't scream. After all, no one would be able to hear me and if they did I don't think they would do anything about it. This house was supposed to be abandoned and haunted so why would they have any reason to think I was being killed by a coven of vampires?

I gripped the sides of the chair I sat on in an attempt to stop me from shaking, holding it so tightly my knuckles were turning white. I turned my head to the side slightly to see who had carried me in. I hadn't seen him before; he was tall, blond and looked a bit older than the others with a warm smile on his face. I figured he was either trying to be nice or just trying to creep me out before eating me.

My eyes darted to the door to the room that was still open as I thought briefly of escaping but the other blond male, the one that had been fighting Edward for me, stepped in front of it, seeming to know what I was about to do. Strange. I don't really remember when he came in the room but I guess I wasn't paying too much attention to that fact. I became aware that I was very nearly hyperventilating and tried to slow my breathing because I really didn't want to faint right now; especially when I have a chance of knowing what they are doing.

"Hello, Bella." The soft voice came from a woman with caramel coloured hair who was now standing beside the one who had carried me up the stairs. "I'm sorry if we frightened you." She said with a small apologetic smile on her face.

"W—what?" I stuttered and glanced nervously around the room. Frightened me? They flipping terrified me! Then something occurred to me. "H—how do you know my name?" The stuttering was beginning to irritate me and I was annoyed at myself for not being able to seem braver in front of these people.

"Perhaps we should start with explaining who we are first?" My captor asked gently with a slight smile and all I could do was nod my head slightly, afraid that if I tried to speak again I would stutter or worse. I noticed they were all standing at quite a distance from me, slightly wary although I wasn't sure why. "I'm Carlisle Cullen." My captor said to me, his eyes never leaving me. I glanced around the room noticing all of the others eyes were also fixed on me and I fidgeted nervously.

"Esme Platt." The caramel haired woman standing next to him said with a warm smile on her face.

"Emmett McCarty." I moved my eyes to the large muscled male with curly brown hair who was grinning at me, excitement alight in his eyes.

"Rosalie Hale." The cold voice came from the beautiful blond woman by his side, her eyes narrowed at me and a scowl marring her perfect face. I averted my eyes from her quickly, feeling the hatred radiating off her in waves.

"I'm Alice Brandon. It's wonderful to finally meet you Bella." The excited bell-like voice came from the small pixie-like girl and I noticed she was standing slightly closer to me than the others near her. I'm not sure why but I took an instant liking to her and her exuberant energy.

"Jasper Whitlock." The tall blond said, standing beside Alice but close to the door as if he was going to make a run for it at any moment. A slight shiver ran down my spine as I remembered the way he had looked at me on the first day I entered the house, hunger burning in his eyes. He had the same look on his face but not as extreme as it had been then.

"Edward Masen." My head shot to my right at the sound of the voice and I squinted my eyes, trying to make out the figure shrouded in shadow. I recognised that voice and my heart picked up speed at the sound of it. I could just make out Edward standing, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest and an expressionless look on his face, his onyx black eyes gazing at me intensely.

My hands gripped tighter on the chair, not because I was scared of him and the way he was looking at me, not because I was in a room full of vampires, hungry vampires, but because I had the overwhelming urge to run to him. As if there was an invisible string around my heart pulling me towards him. My eyes stayed locked on his as I marvelled at the sight of them; not the colour but the intense emotion that was held within them, the emotion that was kept inside them and not shown on his face.

"Bella?" I managed to tear my eyes away from Edward's at the sound of my name looked to Carlisle who was smiling knowingly along with Esme who glanced from me to Edward and back again. I felt a blush heat up me cheeks and dropped my gaze to my lap.

"You're probably wondering why you're here." Carlisle said and I nodded my head slightly, my eyes still focused downwards. "And I am sorry about how I—"

"Kidnapped me?" I interrupted him and lifted my head up, glancing at Edward out of the corner of my eye.

He chuckled softly and smiled at me. "Yes, I suppose I did. I thought it was the only way to actually get you up here." He explained and I had to agree with him. I don't think I would have gone into the house, up the stairs and into this room by my own accord. His face became more serious and so did his voice when he began speaking again. "We have a…situation and we think you're the only one who can help us."

What? Had I heard him right? _Me? _How could I possibly help them?

_**A/N: I had this much written of the chapter and I was going to write more before posting it but I have a bit of writers block and thought I should at least give you faithful readers something. I'll try and get the next chapter out when I can but **__**I'm really not sure what that will be because I still have to update all my other stories.**_

_**Thanks for reading!**_


	6. important

IMPORTANT!

I'm sorry if you guys thought this was an update and I honestly hate authors notes like this myself but this is the first time I've done this and I didn't want to have you waiting without knowing why I wasn't updating.

Anyway, I have my exams in a couple of weeks and five projects I need to get done in two weeks time each at 3000 words each so, as you can imagine, I'm pretty swamped.

I know I'm just giving excuses and everything but it is essential for me to pass my exams this year if I want to go to University and right now that's my number one priority.

So, I won't be updating for a couple of weeks but I will be trying to work on chapters for all my stories and as soon as my exams are over I will **update every story** with **at least** one chapter.

Again, sorry but I know I'll get distracted from my school work if I try and write chapters for my stories. I think the only story I will manage to update over the next few weeks is my new one **"Gone but not forgotten"** because I have already written a couple of chapters for that and I'm just waiting for a good enough response to post the next chapter.

So, if you want you can go read that or check out any of my other stories if you get bored and really desperate (which I certainly doubt).

I also have a poll on my profile and I'd really appreciate it if you vote.

Thanks everyone! I loved you all! :D

Sophia x


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